Coconut Poached Salmon with Spinach & Lentils

Coconut Poached Salmon with Spinach & Lentils... Ok so this sounds way more intimidating and time consuming than it was - so don't run away yet!! Just read through this post and seriously you will want to try this yourself... well if you like coconut thai flavors that is.

I'm not sure why I have never tried cooking with coconut milk before but I'm sure glad I got the hankering for it that I did because tonight's culinary exploration in my kitchen was fantastic.

What I used for the sauce:
1 can coconut milk
1 cup chicken broth
1 lime (and the rind)
1 lemon
1 bay leaf
A bunch of cilantro
Salmon
Salt
Sriracha

Extras
Trader Joe's cooked lentils
Spinach
tablespoon Biryani blend
1 small can water chestnuts

In a large sauce pan I brought the cup or so of chicken broth to a light boil. I then added the full can of coconut milk, juice from a lime and half a lemon, a slice of lime peel, a few drops of sriracha, and a pinch of salt. Let that come to a light boil/simmer and place the salmon filet skin side up into the pan. Add a few cilantro stems and a bay leaf then place the lid on the pot. Let the salmon poach on a light simmer for 12-14 minutes.

Simmering chicken broth

Milk/sriracha/lime/herbs

Poaching the salmon - cover with a lid

Take the salmon out and place it on a plate, also remove the bay leaf, lime peel, and cilantro stems. Let the coconut liquid come to a light boil - add sriracha/salt to taste and toss in the drained water chestnuts.

On the side, sautee a bunch of spinach in a little olive oil and add the lentils. I heated the lentils for about 3 minutes in the microwave before tossing with the spinach. Add some biryani blend if you have it or salt and pepper - or any seasoning you think might be Dahlicious! A squeeze of lemon is always good too.

After I went through all of the above I took a heaping scoop of the lentil/spinach mix and placed my perfectly poached salmon on top. I ladled enough broth over the top to give the lentils a chance to soak it in and then topped the plate with more chopped fresh cilantro.

Sauteed spinach/lentils/biryani

Plated lentils and poached salmon

Soaking up the Dahlicious broth!

In total the prep took about 10 minutes and the actual cooking only about 15. This is seriously a meal you can make in 30 minutes despite how complicated or intricate it might seem.

There are lots of things that could be added to this - lemongrass, green onions, jalapenos, chili paste, ginger, shallots... any veggies or proteins. The options are limitless!

I will definitely be making this again, however I will say it was pretty rich. Next time I do it I may use a bit more chicken broth and a bit less coconut milk, or try using some light coconut milk. The flavor was fantastic, but full fat coconut milk is pretty heavy and fairly caloric. I personally am of the camp that there are worse calories out there for you than coconut milk, but if you are watching your calorie intake I'd just thin it out a bit.

All in all I was super pleased with how this turned out and would definitely suggest trying it! Enjoy this Dahlicious coconut dish!